Ethiopia Slashes Bitcoin Miners' Power Amid Hydropower Shortage

Ethiopia has reduced electricity deliveries to Bitcoin miners by 77% due to a hydropower shortage. The country's hydroelectric reservoirs have been strained by El Niño, which intensified dry conditions in Ethiopia and reduced water inflows by 20%. According to Ethiopian Electric Power CEO Ashebir Balcha, the company initially cut power to miners to 75% of contracted levels, then eased to 50%, and now delivers only 23%.

Bitcoin miners reportedly accounted for 35% of EEP's revenue last fiscal year and consume almost one-third of Ethiopia's electricity output. The country's inexpensive hydropower has attracted international miners, including Phoenix Group, which expanded its Ethiopian mining capacity to 132 megawatts in April 2025.

Economist Saifedean Ammous said global Bitcoin mining electricity consumption and capital expenditure may have peaked in 2024-2025. He noted that the price of Bitcoin needs to rise more than 18.92% a year just to keep the dollar value of newly mined coins growing, even before accounting for dollar depreciation.